Chainguard is hiring a Staff Software Engineer (Guarded OS) to take a leading role on the services and tooling that build and update Chainguard OS. You will design, implement, operate, and improve the systems that keep Chainguard packages up to date, focusing on reliability, performance, automation, and maintainability.
What You'll Do
- Improve and maintain Melange, including usability, testing, patch management, observability, and automation.
- Operate and develop the build service, improving reliability, resource usage, extensibility, and support for multiple architectures.
- Enhance automation for rebuild and transition workflows, including support for shared library transitions using build-time and runtime dependencies.
- Contribute to the reliability and performance of update automation systems with a close eye on costs and operational efficiencies.
- Improve monitoring, logging, dashboards, and general observability across services.
- Define and deliver on a roadmap for build and update services within the OS team.
- Document systems and reduce single points of knowledge within the team.
- Be an integral part of the OS team helping out with distro level package updates and keeping Chainguard OS up-to-date and secure.
What We're Looking For
- 8+ years of software engineering experience with backend or distributed systems.
- Experience with Linux build or packaging systems.
- Strong programming skills in Go.
- Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, Cloud Run, and cloud-native service design.
- Familiarity with GCP services (e.g., BigQuery, IAM, Cloud Logging).
- Experience with Terraform and CI/CD pipelines.
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills across distributed systems.
- Ability to work independently and communicate clearly in a remote-first environment.
Nice to Have
- Experience contributing to or maintaining build, packaging, or tooling projects.
- Observability and monitoring experience.
- Understanding of dependency management and rebuild automation.
- Experience with ARM64 build environments.
- Familiarity with BigQuery or Looker Studio for data analysis.
Technical Stack
- Go
- Kubernetes
- Cloud Run
- GCP (BigQuery, IAM, Cloud Logging)
- Terraform
Team & Environment
You will be joining the OS team.
Benefits & Compensation
- Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone and internet costs.
- Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options.
- 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents.
- ∞ Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need.
- 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year.
Work Mode
This is a remote position open to candidates located in the United States.
Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
